AN ACT to amend and reenact §11-10-12 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §38-10C-2 of said
code, all relating to the withdrawal of state tax liens
recorded prematurely, inadvertently or erroneously.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That §11-10-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted; and that §38-10C-2 of said code be
amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.

ARTICLE 10. WEST VIRGINIA TAX PROCEDURE AND ADMINISTRATION ACT.

§11-10-12. Liens, release; subordination; foreclosure; withdrawal.

(a) General. – Any tax, additions to tax, penalties or
interest due and payable under this article or any of the other
articles of this chapter to which this article is applicable is a
debt due this state. It is a personal obligation of the taxpayer
and is a lien upon the real and personal property of the taxpayer.

(b) Duration of lien. – The lien created by this section
continues until the liability for the tax, additions to tax,
penalties and interest is satisfied or upon the expiration of ten
years from the date the tax, additions to tax, penalties and
interest are due and payable under section eight of this article or
the date the tax return is filed, whichever is later.

(c) Recordation. – The lien created by this section is subject
to the restrictions and conditions embodied in article ten-c,
chapter thirty-eight of this code and any amendment made or which
may hereafter be made thereto: Provided, That the notice of lien
shall indicate the date the tax, additions to tax, penalties and
interest are due and payable under section eight of this article or
the date the tax return was filed.

(d) Release or subordination. – The Tax Commissioner, pursuant
to rules prescribed by him or her, may issue his or her certificate
of release of any lien created pursuant to this section when the
debt is adequately secured by bond or other security. He or she
shall issue his or her certificate of release when the debt secured
has been satisfied. The certificate of release shall be issued in
duplicate. One copy shall be forwarded to the taxpayer, and the
other copy shall be forwarded to the clerk of the county commission
of the county wherein the lien is recorded. The clerk of the
county commission shall record the release without payment of any
fee and the recordation is a release and full discharge of the
lien. The Tax Commissioner may issue his or her certificate of
release of the lien as to all or any part of the property subject
to the lien, or may subordinate the lien to any other lien or
interest, but only if there is paid to the state an amount not less
than the value of the interest of the state in the property, or if
the interest of the state in the property has no value.

(e) Foreclosure. – The Tax Commissioner may enforce any lien
created and recorded under this section, against any property
subject to the lien by civil action in the circuit court of the
county wherein the property is located, in order to subject the
property to the payment of the tax secured by the lien. All
persons having liens upon or having any interest in the property
shall be made parties to the action. The court may appoint a
receiver or commissioner who shall ascertain and report all liens,
claims and interests in and upon the property, the validity, amount
and priority of each. The court shall, after notice to all
parties, proceed to adjudicate all matters involved therein, shall
determine the validity, amount and priorities of all liens, claims
and interests in and upon the property and shall decree a sale of
the property by the sheriff or any commissioner to whom the action
is referred, and shall decree distribution of the proceeds of the
sale according to the findings of the court in respect to the
interests of the parties.

(f) Discharge of lien. – A sale of property against which the
state has a lien under this section, made pursuant to an instrument
creating a lien on the property, or made pursuant to a statutory
lien on the property, or made pursuant to a judicial order to
enforce any judgment in any civil action, shall be made subject to
and without disturbing the state tax lien if the state tax lien was
recorded more than thirty days before the sale, unless:

(1) The Tax Commissioner is made a party to the civil action;

(2) The Tax Commissioner is given notice of the sale in
writing not less than fifteen days prior to sale; or

(3) The Tax Commissioner consents to the sale. The notice
shall contain the name of the owner of the property and the social
security number or federal employer identification number of the
owner.

(g) Withdrawal of lien. – Upon the determination of the Tax
Commissioner or the Tax Commissioner's designee that the lien was
recorded prematurely, inadvertently or otherwise erroneously, a
withdrawal of the lien shall be issued in duplicate. One copy
shall be forwarded to the taxpayer, and the other copy shall be
forwarded to the clerk of the county commission of the county
wherein the lien is recorded. The clerk of the county commission
shall record the withdrawal of lien without payment of any fee.

CHAPTER 38. LIENS.

ARTICLE 10C. STATE AND LOCAL TAX LIENS.

§38-10C-2. Notices of liens of state, political subdivisions and
municipalities to be filed; indexes; withdrawal
release.

It is the duty of the Tax Commissioner, or the proper officers
of the political subdivisions of the state for its subdivisions and
of the proper officers of the municipalities for the
municipalities, having liens, to file a notice of the liens in the
office of the clerk of the county commission of the county in which
the property of the taxpayer against whom the lien is claimed, is
situate, stating in the notice what amount of money is owing to the
State of West Virginia, the political subdivision or the
municipality, on account of the lien from the taxpayer owing the
money; and the clerk of the county commission of the county shall,
upon the filing of notice, index the lien in the judgment or tax
lien docket in his or her office as a tax lien against the taxpayer
in favor of the State of West Virginia, the political subdivision
or the municipality. Upon the determination of the Tax
Commissioner or the Tax Commissioner's designee that the lien was
recorded prematurely, inadvertently or otherwise erroneously, a
withdrawal of the lien shall be issued in duplicate. One copy
shall be forwarded to the taxpayer, and the other copy shall be
forwarded to the clerk of the county commission of the county
wherein the lien is recorded. The clerk of the county commission
shall record the withdrawal of lien without payment of any fee.
Upon the satisfaction of the lien, a release of the lien for
recordation shall be signed and delivered to the taxpayer by the
proper officer. The signature of the Tax Commissioner or the Tax
Commissioner's designee on the notice and on the release or
withdrawal may be either a properly acknowledged manual signature
or a facsimile signature authenticated pursuant to the filing of an
affidavit and a manual signature with the Secretary of State in the
manner specified in section two, article fourteen, chapter six of
this code. The facsimile signature has the same legal effect as
the manual signature.

All acts or parts of acts inconsistent or in conflict herewith
are hereby repealed.